The Swing is the Thing

Javier Moscoso

5:30pm

Monday, September 25, 2023

60 mins

In Arc of Feeling: The History of the Swing, historian Javier Moscoso explains the swing has always been about transformation: as it holds us in its oscillating spell, the swing calls into question the world we know. Long before it entered the urban playgrounds of the 20th century, the swing was a ritual instrument of healing, punishment and transformation. Throughout this year’s Festival you can experience All or Nothing Aerial Dance Theatre’s swing installation, an aerial storytelling performance that offers the opportunity to experience a joyful sensation of flight and play. In this discussion, Moscoso will be joined by All or Nothing Director, Jennifer Paterson and together they will take us on a guided journey of discovery of the history, anthropology and human joy of the swing; one of the most essential objects in the history of the human experience.

Moderated by Janet Smyth.

Before and after this discussion will be a performance of The Swings that includes a chance for the audience to experience swinging on a giant 5.5 metre swingset.

Conversation

How to attend

$19.99

Single Day Pass

$249.99

Full Festival Pass

Students and youth save up to 50% on passes.

Moderated by Janet Smyth.

Before and after this discussion will be a performance of The Swings that includes a chance for the audience to experience swinging on a giant 5.5 metre swingset.

Conversation

Featured Authors

Javier Moscoso

Javier Moscoso is Professor of History at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). In 2011 he published Pain: A Cultural History in both English and Spanish. The French edition received the French booksellers' Libr'à nous prize for the best history book of 2015. It is now being translated into Arabic. He has been Visiting Scholar at the Sorbonne, at the University of Harvard, and Visting Professor at the University of Chicago or the Max Planck in Berlin, among many other institutions. His latest book, The Arc of Feeling: A History of the Swing, explores rituals and mythologies of the swing throughout history.